Oakland's Lynchings

In 1950 and 1951, the Ku Klux Klan brutally murdered two young Black men from Oakland who worked in the citrus fields. For decades, the stories were passed down in whispers—if they were shared at all. Now, the town is finally, publicly, acknowledging what happened 70 years ago.

It was just after 10:30 p.m. on March 28, 1951, when Julius Mosby heard banging on the front door of the Oakland home he shared with his wife; his mother; and a lodger, Melvin Womack, a 27-year-old who had come to Oakland to work in the nearby citrus groves. Before Julius could answer it, four white men with flashlights, Klansmen, kicked the door in. They headed for Womack’s bedroom, dragged him out of bed and out of the house. They threw him in their car and drove off.